Pretoria’s two MMA stars, Dricus du Plessis and Cameron Saaiman’s stars continue to shine on the international stage.

This past weekend, the two fighters participated for the second time together at the same tournament of the world’s largest mixed martial arts organization, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and once again the two young men did not disappoint their fans.

That officially makes @DricusduPlessis 5-0 in the UFC 👏 #UFC285 pic.twitter.com/CTEh8Kk6Er

— UFC (@ufc) March 5, 2023

Du Plessis and Saaiman are both involved at the CIT Performance Institute in Hatfield, Pretoria.

While Saaiman was in action in his second full UFC fight, Du Plessis established himself as one of the top five contenders in the UFC Middleweight division with his victory on Saturday night in his fifth UFC fight.

Saaiman faced the older and more experienced Mana Martinez. However, the American did not have many answers for the former learner of Hoërskool Garsfontein’s accurate punches and aggression in the fighting cage.

Despite the fact that Saaiman was penalized for punches below the belt, he still dominated the fight to such an extent that he was able to take a points victory in the fight over three rounds.

In the interview after the fight, he apologized for the low blows and reiterated that it was not intentional and that he wanted to avoid being branded as a dirty fighter at all costs.

Saaiman’s fight against Martinez was part of the so-called ‘Early Prelims’ at UFC 285. This was his second time fighting in this section of the tournament, but he probably will be promoted next time.

It was clear that the organizers of the UFC, as well as the international MMA media are very impressed with Saaiman and no one will be surprised if he will be listed higher on the next fight card if he competes again.

– Du Plessis showed again in his fight against Derek Brunson, which was part of the Preliminary Card at UFC 285, that he can bite the bullet when necessary and that he also has a hard jaw that can handle tough blows.

The American, a veteran of 32 professional MMA fights, properly tested Du Plessis in the first round, but in the second round he had no answer for the South African’s power and accuracy.

When Du Plessis sent him to the canvas late in the second round and then landed on top of him to end the fight, Brunson’s management decided to throw in the towel.

Although Du Plessis has now established himself as a possible future superstar in the UFC, there has been widespread criticism against one aspect of his appearance as a fighter.

For the second consecutive fight in this tough league, Du Plessis had problems with his stamina. Although the fight only progressed to the second round, it appeared that Du Plessis’ fitness was not up to standard and he was visibly very tired towards the end of that round, just before the fight was stopped.

Yet in this situation he also showed a positive aspect of his abilities. Unlike other fighters, who lose focus due to exhaustion, Du Plessis’s punches were particularly accurate until the end. This made his opponent’s management team realize that they would have to throw in the towel, otherwise Brunson might have been seriously hurt.

With this victory, Du Plessis has also established himself among the top five contenders for a title fight in the middleweight division of the UFC and with a little luck he may soon get the chance to fight for this prestigious belt.

Brunson's team throws in the towel!!@DricusduPlessis will leave #UFC285 with the stoppage victory! pic.twitter.com/SyQ5vbUmA1

— UFC (@ufc) March 5, 2023

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